Chapter 2

"Pay no heed to my subjects." Gallagar flashed an indulgent smile at Zephor. "They love to tease. It's our love language."

A defined muscle poked through Blackthorn's jaw.

Solemnity stole Zephor's smile as he glided over to the table.

"There is a darkness rising," he informed with a shadow passing over his face like a cloud eclipsing the sun. "A malevolence spreading. There has been a string of attacks and disappearances in other kingdoms."

"That sounds like the burdens of other kingdoms," Gallagar said with a confused smile.

Zephor slipped him somewhat of a reproving glance. "This great evil has encroached on our borders. An evil that stems from our history drenched in blood."

He summoned a scroll with a raise of his hand; one flew into his grasp from one of the towering cases and shelves. A gesture of gathering brought all three of them around the table. With a flick of his scarlet sleeve, he unfurled the map. Suspended in the air, it lowered itself onto the surface. The parchment depicted the entire realm, its contours marked with enchanted ley lines that pulsed with arcane energy.

"Bear witness to the tapestry of our world that is woven with threads of dark magic," Zephor intoned, his voice resonated like the echo of an ancient incantation. As he motioned to the map, it became alive. A scar of darkness appeared like spilled ink. "Murvis Arises."

"Impossible," Gallagar spat out. "Everyone from the eight kingdoms knows that Sajatai Akari merged with Murvis in the battle of the White Scourge. She became Tainted and nearly destroyed the world before Omnis, the Great Mage, put an end to them both. The realm has only known peace ever since."

"That was the tale that was told. A much more palatable lie fed to the people to conceal the truth."

Gallagar tried to evict the emotion that was coiling around his neck.

He cleared his throat more times than was necessary, trying to affect calm.

"And what truth is that?".

All knew of the legend of the last. The last Sajatai.

One Great Savior who was believed to have ended the threat for all time.

She took on the darkness, so all could live in the light.

"After the merging, we all know that the Sajatai became Tainted." Zephor massaged his chin briefly and thoughtfully. A vacant look had entered his eyes. "The two powers combined; a celestial force that could send tremors through the universe. The merging of light and dark energy. The convergence nearly fractured the realm, but the devastation was ceased by Omnis. He whose power looms greater than my own, even beyond the thresholds of death. He couldn't destroy Murvis, but he was able to restrain such a power. By then, the merge had torn a rift through the twelve hellscapes, home to the most abominable creatures in existence."

Fear leaked into the Gallagar; the way seawater seeped into the cracks of a broken hull.

"The veil between our realm and the hellscapes grows thin as shadows spill through the gaps, bleeding into our world. Because of it, such abominations claw their way to the natural tier." Zephor continued. "A fissure, a breach in reality, threatens to unleash Murvis, who would devour all we know. And those abominations that would destroy what was left."

Zephor pointed to four ominous points on the map, each marked by an eddying vortex of malevolent energy. "These are the focal points where the fabric of our world frays. The confluence of such powerful forces seeks to birth the Great Breach, a cataclysmic event that will herald Murvis' unopposed descent upon us all."

Blackthorn glanced at Gallagar. His face had paled slightly, and his eyes were blinking erratically. As he spoke, the air was heavy from the weight of this revelation.

"A platoon of the king's army should be stationed at certain locations to protect His Majesty's interests, as well as the palace-city. It is not only his people we must safeguard, but all domains under the Crown. However, a regiment of the Avangard, as well as a contingency, must journey to the accursed Verlax; the first of these fissures, nestled deep within the fathoms of the Cimmerian Mountain."

Gallagar raised a bumbling hand to point to himself. "And where do you suppose I will be during this noble excursion?"

"At the forefront, of course," Elysia said with eyes glittering with malice. "As is expected for the savior of man. Where else would you be?"

"Anywhere where the danger is not."

"Here is where we shall helm this tainted history." With a flourish, Zephor conjured an image of Verlax, projecting above the map, its ominous depths illuminated by ethereal flames. "I shall accompany you on the expedition. We shall either forge a destiny that defies the very fabric of fate. Or the realm and all in it will surely perish."

The enchantment dissipated, and the ethereal glow dissolved into the map.

"There is only one way to fell this threat." Zephor said, laying Gallagar with a meaningful look meant to imbue him with a sense of purpose. "Through all these ages, we have only tried to lock the door instead of trying to destroy it completely. It is the Oracle of Omnis. One worthy to possess his power will enter the gateway between dimensions to tear it down from the inside."

"That sounds like a one-way journey," Blackthorn pointed out, then he came closer to Gallagar who became unnaturally quiet with his gaze lost in the distance. "You look a little green around the gills."

Gallagar dispelled his daze with the speed of his fool-proof smile.

"I am prepared to do what needs to be done."

Which was to leave. Gallagar comprehended that he was far out of his depths, and what they required was beyond the extent of his capabilities. He was a mercenary who took lives, not saved them. Even if he was rewarded with a king's ransom, what good was gold if I had the crows pecking at my eyes? Zephor, Elysia, and Blackthorn refined their tactical strategies. They finalized the chartered routes of the voyage, contributing new information of territories plagued by dark manifestations. Gallagar could see their mouths move, but the sound was muffled like words spoken underwater. Whilst they were honing their plans, Gallagar was crafting one of his own. His escape.

Throughout the day, Gallagar indulged in extravagance, solidifying the impression of his careless nature, unshaken by his presumed duty. That could not be further from fact. He had retained his belongings. By nightfall, he made his departure with his short blades strapped to his back. A pair of curved daggers secured to his thighs; their blades etched with the constellations of the Illisian design. 

Gallagar ghosted through halls, evading the vigilant gaze of the palace guards. He sought the sea-gate. When he arrived, he descended to the subterranean chamber. Soon he scaled down the moss-covered rungs. Following the serpentine path, Gallagar emerged in the chamber connected to the palace moat. Moonlight danced upon the water's surface, revealing the stone arches that framed the underground passage. Its still waters concealed dangerous currents.

Gallagar took a reading breath before he leapt and swan-dived into‌ the waters. The chill electrified his blood and veins, but he dove deeper, heaving himself towards freedom. The underwater world blurred into shadows as he navigated the inky depths. Suddenly, a toothy maw shaped into a set of iron bars. 

With practiced finesse, Gallagar approached the barred barrier, his nimble fingers producing his dagger. He manipulated mechanisms, coaxing them to yield to his skill. When they did, he slipped through a narrow gap and swam through. Gallagar emerged into the moonlit embrace of the moat, his form breaking the surface. He embarked on the current that wound its way around the foot of the hills. The palace, now a distant silhouette against the night sky. His last obstacle would be escaping the palace-city undetected.

~

The midnight moon was like a phantom orb.

Valerius stood close to the old derelict well in Cirus. His line of inquiry had led him to find Thalian Elowen. Nobles or monarchs who sought to hire mercenaries would negotiate the terms with the leaders of mercenary bands. However, Gallagar submitted to no-one but himself: every contract, kill and wage was his own. Valerius had pulled at the threads of his dark deeds and deception to uncover his treachery. No-one saw Thalion pull gem from stone, but witnesses claimed they saw him before his death. One even said they saw Thalion leave the tavern to surrender his prayers at the city center to the holy monument.

City custodians had rounded up and detained the scoundrels loitering in Cirus.

None of them knew the truth. That knowledge belonged to only one of them.